Setting up a tent isn't as easy as you'd think, especially if you're not
a regular camper or you're setting it up in bad weather, or teaming with your
spouse to complete the task. Our annual family reunion this summer involved
camping and that meant breaking out our tent. When our kids were young our
camping skills were up-to-date. Now that we’re empty nesters our idea of
roughing it is more like scouting for the nearest bed and breakfast. But in the
spirit of family togetherness we arrived on site and summoned our teamwork
skills to pitch our tent.

Together

Everyone

Achieves

More

Is that really true? From the mid-1960s, it was believed that groups
passed through a standard sequence of five stages. These stages have been
labeled forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. I’ve been
studying the benefits, drawbacks and dynamics of teams for years so you would
have thought I’d remembered that my wife likes to inventory all the components
and then read the directions. I usually skip the directions and just start
jamming poles together.

Forming

The beginning or formation stage of a team is most important. Members
are “testing the waters” to determine what types of behavior are acceptable.
This stage calls for your complete attention as ground rules are defined for
how the team will operate while working towards the accomplishment of their
goals.

Lesson 1: Several
years had passed since I last put that tent up. Consulting the directions first
really was a good idea. Pay attention to where each member adds the most value
and match the tasks accordingly. My brother-in-law handed me an adult beverage
when we first arrived which distracted me, so I’m going to blame him for my
initial misstep!

Storming

The storming stage can be one of intragroup conflict because group
members are adjusting to constraints placed on their individuality. Picking a
place to camp can bring on a squall because we all have our own idea of the
“perfect spot.” In general you need to find somewhere flat, dry, and away from
any trees where branches could drop overnight. My wife warned me about the
trees and Mother Nature drove the point home when a severe storm rolled through
a couple of hours later. Our tent survived just fine, but our car took a sound pounding.

Lesson 2: Good
teams can still fail under the wrong circumstances. When something goes wrong
in an organization the most common response is to find someone to blame. Teams
need access to resources, including information. It was a campground in a
forest for crying out loud! How could I know the tree next to my car would
break during the next thunderstorm? I didn’t consider that risk. It was time
for another adult beverage.

Norming

In the norming phase the
group has begun to be effective. During this time group members are able to make a conscious effort to
resolve problems and achieve group harmony. In short, my wife and I realized
neither one of us really wanted to sleep in that tent. When adjustments to goals
are necessary a team may need to bring in additional resources to accomplish
their objective. We needed to find a way to remove the tree that was blocking our
car. That way we could slip off to a local B&B later that night.

Lesson 3: When the
challenge escalates a good team finds a way. Campgrounds are generally full of
big trucks, towing lines, and individuals willing to lend a hand. Our car was
damaged, but drivable and we sleep in comfort that night. Also, when members of
a group have worked together before and know each other well, be mindful of the
“Abilene Paradox.”

The Abilene Paradox is brought
to life in a story told by Professor Jerry B. Harvey of a family decision gone
wrong. On a hot west Texas day, Jerry, his wife and parent-in-laws piled into a
car without air conditioning and drove from their small hometown of Coleman,
Texas to Abilene (about 60 miles one way) to have dinner at a cafeteria. At 104
degrees the heat was oppressive; and as it turns out the food was lousy. But no
one dared to speak in those terms until they returned home four hours later.
Finally, Jerry’s mother-in-law broke the silence by complaining about the trip.
Then everyone chimed in with their main issue … as it turns out, no one really
wanted to go in the first place. Eventually, they all blamed Jerry’s
father-in-law for suggesting the outing. Even Jerry’s father-in-law had really
wanted to stay home. He only suggested the idea because he thought everyone
might get bored staying at home. You have to wonder why someone didn’t speak up
and voice their true feelings before they piled into the car.

To Harvey, whenever a group is
about to do the wrong things, despite knowing it is the wrong thing, it is a
group “on the road to Abilene.” In fact, this form of groupthink actually has
to do with the mismanagement of agreement, as opposed to the management of
disagreement. My wife and I wanted to attend the reunion; but we didn’t let
each other know our individual thoughts about sleeping in the tent. However;
tent or no tent, our car would have still been parked in that spot. Now that we
were both on the same page though we could change the measure of success by
reminding ourselves that it was great to see our family and the car was covered
by insurance.

Performing
and Adjourning

The fourth stage is performing and the final
stage adjourning. A group that has reached the performing stage of
group development is highly cohesive. This means the members are committed to work
cooperatively to achieve the group's goals. The group routinely accepts delegated tasks and the
members stay focused.

Lesson 4: No team can ignore the reality of the situation. But performing teams
keep moving forward. The car has been fixed and is as good as new. The tent has
been stowed away. I don’t think we’ll need it again!